One More Victory, Megawati Hangestri!

DAEJEON, SUNDAY — After consecutive defeats in the first two matches of the final round of the 2024-2025 Korean Volleyball League, Megawati Hangestri Pertiwi led Daejeon Jung Kwan Jang Red Sparks to rebound by sweeping two home games. Megawati is now just one victory away from securing the championship title in her second season in Korea.

Megawati and the Red Sparks are getting closer to the championship title after securing a victory in the fourth match of the final round of the Korean Volleyball League or V League against Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders on Sunday (6/4/2025). Similar to the third match, which was also held at their home venue, Chungmu Gymnasium, Daejeon, Megawati scored the final point and became the player who sealed the victory with a score of 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 36-34, 22-25, 15-12).

Thanks to the victory, the aggregate of the final round became 2-2. Red Sparks and Pink Spiders both won their two home games. In the peak phase using the best of five format, the determination of the champion must be done through the fifth match to get the best team with three wins.

With the success of forcing this fifth match, Megawati and Red Sparks are now just one victory away from claiming the championship title. Red Sparks, in particular, have been waiting for 13 years to return to the finals and win the trophy. This is their best opportunity in more than a decade.

I think she (Megawati) will be remembered in the history of the V-League (Red Sparks coach Ko Hee-jin)

"The players showed concentration in a difficult situation. They were really great," said Red Sparks coach Ko Hee-jin, quoted by Korean media, MHN Sports.

Ko Hee-jin specifically praised Megawati for her impressive performance, contributing 38 points, the highest in the match. The player, nicknamed "Megatron" by fans, also recorded an attack success rate of 47.37 percent.

"Megawati's right knee is still not fully recovered. Nevertheless, I think she is a great player who attacked in the fifth set. I believe she will be remembered in the history of the V-League," said Ko Hee-jin.

Another foreign player from Red Sparks, Vanja Bukilic, followed Megawati's point tally with 28 points. Meanwhile, her attack success rate was higher at 50.98 percent.

As a team, Red Sparks leads in both offensive and defensive aspects. Megawati and her teammates recorded an attack effectiveness of 47.4 percent, surpassing Pink Spiders, who achieved 46.58 percent. In terms of ball reception, Red Sparks achieved an effectiveness of 28.18 percent, while Pink Spiders recorded 22.61 percent.

The fourth match, lasting 2 hours and 35 minutes, unfolded dramatically. As the host, Red Sparks seized the momentum from the start, considering they needed a win to keep their championship hopes alive.

Megawati scored 9 points, while Bukilic and Park Eun-jin each added 4 points to win the first set easily 25-20. Entering the second set, Megawati and her friends led from the start and widened the score gap to 23-18. The ticket to Incheon, the Pink Spiders' home base and where the fifth game was held, seemed to be getting closer.

However, the situation began to turn around. Pink Spiders rose by scoring 6 consecutive points to turn the score to 24-23. The atmosphere on the court changed in an instant. Pink Spiders were 1 point away from winning the set, but the home team managed to equalize the score to 24-24. However, Pink Spiders eventually managed to win the second set.

With both teams winning one set each, the battle became increasingly intense. In the third set, it was the Red Sparks' turn to fight harder with a fight for deuce until they finally won 36-34.

While the Pink Spiders won the fourth set, the Red Sparks finally won the long-awaited fifth set, which secured their trip to Incheon for the decider on Tuesday (4/8/2025). The 3,405 Red Sparks fans who filled the stadium cheered and waved team flags.

"The match ended up being a serve battle. That's what happens when you both lose stamina," Ko Hee-jin said.

Meanwhile, Pink Spiders coach Marcello Abbondanza said before the match that his team found it difficult to try new innovations in the game. This is due to the tight schedule during the season.

On the other hand, according to Abbondanza, his team's evaluation since the defeat in the third match was the attack and reception aspects that were not optimal. "It is important to continue to show the good volleyball that we can play. In fact, with a tight schedule, we cannot try new things. We have to think strong and focus on what we each need to do," he said again.